Moss Haired Swordsmen
by Epona64
Summary: The Branded swordsman of the desert fights with the Crimean Army of their way to the capital of Daein. As the army marches through the cold mountains, Stefan has nothing to do and searches for the Commander, Homasa, hoping that he will provide a challenge


_The idea for this one-shot came to me from several different places. The request by my beta-reader Bizz-Chan, and the conversation of greatness between Stefan and Homasa in Chapter 19 of PoR. _

_I aplogize if I have Stefan out of character. You must understand that I am on my second playthrough of PoR, and the first time with Stefan._

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White clouds, white stone, white snow.

Blank whiteness made the steep mountains surrounding the battlefield seem like a blank canvas, waiting to be splashed with color. The falling snow had taken a small break, and down below, the landscape was painted with the colors red and black. The red Crimean army fought against the dark ravens hired by the black Daein's, their battle painting the thick snow below a deep crimson.

"Come Darkwings!" the Raven King shouted over the roar of the battle, "Leave these petty human fools to hack each other to pieces."

Naesala turned his back on the white heron in front of him and took off into the surrounding mountains, followed by a wave of ebony wings. Both sides of Beorc fighters lowered their weapons for a moment to watch as the darkness that was the ravens slipped over the mountaintop. Several of the snipers perched on ballistae took a few futile shots at the retreating darkness before the battlefield leapt back to normal, the human soldiers rushing forward to take the place of the traitorous sub-humans and prevent the Crimean army from advancing any further.

Within the surging mass of the Crimean army was one swordmaster in particular. His brightly colored clothing set him far apart even from the un-armored mercenaries that occupied the group. His blue robe fluttered slightly in the crisp breeze of mountain air and his boots crunched noisily in the snow. Stefan held his Vague Katti loosely at his side as he followed the army further into the small valley, his familiar smile lost in some unknown land. The other two swordmasters—Mia and Zihark—were taking care of almost all of the enemy troops before Stefan could even reach them, and the rainbow-wearing swordsman was relatively bored.

With the ravens gone, the battle had settled down substantially and now only the weak human soldiers stood between the attackers and the general. Out of the corner of his eye, Stefan noticed a Wyvern rider gliding towards the company, swerving towards a Begnion Pegasus rider attacking the archer operating the nearby ballista. The Daein rider easily defeated the weakened Pegasus knight and continued towards the advancing troops. Stefan ran towards the Wyvern, hoping to keep the beast from attacking the Crimean army.

The company continued forward as Stefan veered off to the left towards his challenge. It seemed that none of his companions had noticed the rider, and Stefan was confident that his duel would not be interrupted. The armored man riding the great beast noticed the explosions of color emanating from his challenger and immediately set his course towards the lone swordsman, certain that the man would not pose a threat.

Stefan's smile found its way back into familiar territory as the rider reared his great beast upward and gripped his javelin tightly. The Daein warrior flung his projectile at the sapphire-robed soldier who took a step aside and dodged it easily. His smile beginning to wander once more, Stefan ran at the rider who quickly pulled another spear out and aimed it at the approaching fighter.

As its rider carefully directed his weapon, the Wyvern opened its putrid jaws in and attempted to clamp them on the sword-wielding blur rushing towards it. The beast stopped cold as its severed head fell to the reddened snow and rolled unevenly down the slope. As the monster's body slipped heavily to the snow, the rider lost his balance and toppled roughly onto the cold, hard ground.

Stefan walked softly up to the man and looked down at him. The rider had just so happened to land directly on his lance when he fell, leaving him impaled on his own weapon next to his dead mount. Stefan sighed and turned back to the battlefield below, his hand resting listlessly on the nearby ballista. The Crimean army was having trouble dealing with a small group of mounted knights that had come to re-enforce the dwindling Daein numbers.

Stefan wiped his Katti in the white snow and began the steep decent of the hill, avoiding the hulking darkness of the battle. He managed to make it down the slope undetected, and Stefan decided to seek out the commander who was no doubt hiding behind his men. The rainbow swordsman scanned the snowfield carefully, looking for his target waiting in the stark whiteness of the snow.

Then Stefan saw him, a fellow swordsman wearing a black robe fringed with blood-red designs, his dark green hair hanging limply down his back. He fingered the hilt of the sword sheathed at his side as he yelled at a soldier, who after a few moments, jogged away from the enraged general and took his place on the front line. Now that the commander was alone, Stefan was free to have his duel without outside intrusion.

Keeping a weary eye out for any Daein troops, the swordsman of the desert made his way through the thick snow towards the commander. Once again, both sides of the battle were oblivious to the bright patch of color moving across the blank snows. The Daein commander turned his head in Stefan's direction, and spotting the Branded swordsman, faced him, drawing his blade silently. Stefan stopped a small distance away, pulled his Vague Katti in front of him, and eyed the opposing swordmaster carefully. After examining his opponent briefly, the Daein captain laughed lightly and lowered his weapon slightly.

"I've been watching you." the dark-haired man said loud enough for Stefan to hear, "It seems you are quite the fencer. Would you like me to teach you something?"

Stefan kept his sword raised and shouted, "What is your name?"

The Daein commander laughed again, "I am Homasa, captain of these men our country gives the privilege of calling soldiers."

"Homasa," Stefan said, letting his blade sink a few inches, "you call yourself a commander? All you do is give orders and hide behind the bodies of your men. Sheathe your blade. If that is all the skill you possess, you are not ready to challenge me."

Homasa's silver sword leaped back up as anger worked its way across his face. "What? You dare insult a swordmaster of Daein? You will pay for your foolishness with your life! Have at you!"

At that, both men ran forward with their swords raised and met, their blades flashing in the air, lighting up even the blinding brightness of the surrounding snows. The swordmaster's faces were set with determination, both rationing their strength carefully and waiting for the other to falter. Stefan gave a single push and Homasa's sword swung off to the side, leaving him open. As the lighter-colored swordsman went in for the killing strike, Homasa dropped to the ground and rolled out of the way as Stefan continued his stroke downwards into the snow.

Stefan leapt of top of the grounded commander and swept his Katti down in one final stroke; but his blade was blocked by Homasa's silver sword. Stefan pressed all of his weight down on his Katti while Homasa used both hands to push the lethal point back. Stefan's sword sank inch by inch towards the dark swordmaster's body, threatening to cleave him in half.

The Daein captain swung his legs out, knocking the desert swordsman off his feet. Homasa was off the ground in a flash and immediately rushed back to his downed opponent, catching Stefan halfway off the ground—and off guard. The blade ripped a great hole in Stefan's blue robe and left a deep gash down his left thigh.

Catching Homasa's follow-up swing with his Katti, Stefan pushed himself the rest of the way up and stumbled back a few steps. Homasa quickly recovered and pressed his attack, viciously releasing a flurry of sword strikes, pushing Stefan back as he blocked every one. The blades danced and flashed in the air with each swing, making the duel flicker and scintillate. In a quick motion, Homasa worked his silver sword around Stefan's Vague Katti and twisted it from his grip, sending it soaring behind the disarmed man. Homasa pressed his attacks even more, sure that the fight was won.

Stefan jumped and twisted his thin body in an attempt to avoid every slice that the Daein commander released, and Homasa's blade cut only the colorful fabric wrapped around the rainbow swordsman. When the dark swordmaster's attacks paused briefly, Stefan leapt away with a flip and quickly pulled out the silver blade strapped to his back. He ran back, bringing his blade down repeatedly, leaving Homasa to retreat backwards as Stefan pressed forward.

Once more, the two silver swords met in a contest of strength. The two looked over each other carefully, measuring the amount of energy their opponent had left; both men were panting and neither could go at such a pace for much longer. At the same time, Stefan and Homasa gave a push in their blades, sending both swordsmen stumbling back in the snow. After a brief pause, they ran back at each other, swords raised, Stefan bringing his blade up from near the ground, and Homasa stabbing from above.

Meanwhile, more Daein troops had been called in to stop the Crimean advancement and were pushing the army further back. All of the Laguz fighters were resting off to the side, and the Crimean Beorcs were having difficulty keeping the opposing army back. Everyone was tired and could not last much longer, and as snow began to flutter softly from the sky, it seemed as if the battle was lost. The two dueling swordmasters had yet to be detected, and no one noticed when they came to a sudden halt.

The two men stood, their tired bodies leaning on each other heavily, one kept standing only by the blade of the other protruding a dark red from his back. A single sword slipped from nerveless fingers noiselessly to the soft ground as the battle raged behind the two duelists. Warm blood washed from Homasa's wound onto his opponent's hand, chasing the biting cold away.

Both of the swordsmen's weapons had hit their mark, but the wound Homasa inflickted on his opponent was not fatal—Stefan made it out with a only deep cut in his right arm. Stefan held the weight of both men as Homasa leaned heavily on his bleeding shoulder, shocking the rainbow swordmaster's entire body with intense pain. The Branded swordsman tried to pull his blade from the Daein commander's stiff body, but his shoulder gnawed at him violently, cutting off his movement.

"D-damn..." Homasa whispered harshly, his uneven breath sending warm clouds of fog down Stefan's back. "H-how...how could I...l-lose to...sc-scum l-like...like y-you?" Homasa tried to push himself from Stefan's unmoving blade, but with a sharp cry of pain, sank heavily into his adversary's arms again. "Th-the shame...I-I've brought to...m-my country...The shame..."

Homasa took one last shuddering gasp before Stefan pulled his silver blade from the Daein commander's chest, sending the dark swordmaster crumpling sideways into the snow. Stefan reached up and held his bleeding shoulder tightly, trying to stop the waves of pain coursing through his arm at the sudden movement. Casting one last glance at the still body of the commander, Stefan turned to make his way to the rest of the group, but his trudging feet caught on a small drift of snow and the blue-robed swordmaster tripped. Before he hit the ground, Stefan plunged his sword into the snow and leaned up against it, breathing heavily.

The green-haired swordsman produced a small bottle from an inner pocket of his robe and gently pulled the cap off and brought the crystal vessel up to his lips. As Stefan swallowed a small gulp of the warm liquid, he could feel some energy returning to him and he pushed himself from the support of his sword. Though still limping slightly, Stefan made his way back to the Crimean army, careful to avoid Daein troops on the way.

When the swordmaster of the desert drew close to the front line of the battle, a mounted knight saw the colors coming from behind him and spurred his steed towards the wounded Stefan. Luckily, the unit was in the middle of a battle with a shifted Mordecai, who—upon seeing his friend in danger—chased after the horse as fast as his tiger legs could carry him. Stefan raised his sword wearily at the approaching enemy. The rainbow swordsman knew he wouldn't stand a chance against the mounted soldier; all of Stefan's energy was gone—it was taking all of his strength just to keep himself standing.

The knight lifted his axe and began to bring the weapon down on a weakened Stefan who stood his ground and waited for the blow to come. However, the axe never completed its deadly arc and after a few moments, Mordecai leapt over the horse, knocking its rider from the saddle violently. The knight landed several yards away in a crumpled pile.

The great blue tiger shifted back to his Beorc form and Stefan took a few steps towards him, but his still bleeding leg gave out, and he nearly collapsed into the cold snow. Mordecai caught the falling swordmaster quickly under his arm and helped him to his feet gently.

"Stefan!" Mordecai growled, "You are hurt!"

Stefan laughed weakly, "I'll be fine Mordecai. It's just a few cuts."

"Mmm. I will still bring you back to the others."

The tiger draped Stefan's left arm over his shoulder and allowed the swordsman to lean heavily on him as they carefully made their way back to the others, Mordecai watching for any Daein troops foolish enough to attack him. Several mounted units turned at the same time and saw the two men coming their way. But, looking past them, they also saw the steaming body of their commander lying in a bloodied patch of snow. The four words one of the shouted sent the Daein army into chaos.

"Commander Homasa is dead!"

The entire army turned to confirm the information and most of them were cut down before they could run. The ones that did escape quickly made their way out of the small valley and off into the blur of distant snow. Even the soldiers that ran past Stefan and Mordecai did not attack, but fled by without even noticing them. Only a few of the Crimeans made an attempt to pursue, most too exhausted to even notice that the battle was over.

As the tiger and the desert swordsman came closer to the main body of the Crimean survivors, their commander, Ike, noticed them and calls Rhys to follow him. Soren cast a sideways glance towards Stefan, but continued to walk through the battlefield, taking notes on the number of wounded or dead. Meanwhile, Ike and Rhys reached Mordecai, and he gently lowered Stefan to the ground to be healed. As Rhys' staff glowed with a warm light, Ike knelt down next to the rainbow swordsman.

"Are you the one who killed the commander?" Ike asked, pausing to look over Stefan's wounds.

The rainbow swordsman nodded slightly and stretched his now healed shoulder.

"How did you even get over there? We were caught between those two hills for almost the entire battle. No one even noticed you go anywhere else."

Stefan chuckled softly. "Does it really matter _how_ I got there?"

Ike flashed a brief smile. "No, I guess not. But it does look like the captain gave you a rough time."

"I misjudged Homasa's skill. He was the first in a very long time to disarm me."

Ike shot the Branded swordsman a surprised look and stood up as Stefan rose, his wounds completely healed.

"Speaking of which, I do believe my Katti is still back there."

"I will get it." Mordecai growled deeply, "Stefan needs to rest."

Stefan rested his hand on the great tiger's shoulder and smiled. "I told you, I'm fine. Besides, all the enemy troops ran away or are dead, so there shouldn't be a threat."

With a light wave, Stefan trotted quickly to retrieve his lost weapon. Ignoring the bodies of the fallen, Stefan quickly reached the spot where he had last held his favored blade. Noticing a sudden flash, the rainbow swordmaster saw his Vague Katti sticking in a small drift of the still falling snow. Pulling his sword from the whiteness, Stefan saw a stark contrast of red to the side. Turning around, Stefan saw that Homasa had yet to move from the position he fell into when Stefan had released him. The rainbow swordmaster shook his head slightly and ran back to the rest of the company as they continued their march towards the Daein capital, leaving the bloody battlefield behind to be slowly covered by a soft blanket of snow.

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_Hooray for Stefan, Homasa and chapter 19! _

_I hoped you liked it, if you would be so kind as to leave a reveiw, I would be oh so very grateful!_


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